I guess posting this was a waste of time

There's lots of options for you if you read through the various threads. There's OTCs, diet changes, supplements, etc. all of them range in price. As you read through the forums, you'll see that each piece of advice works for some, but not others.

I need some advice on how to treat the acne I have. I'm a 26 year old guy, had some problems with my skin when I was younger, used proactiv, got much better, then seemed to stop working. Then it just seemed to fade away between ages 23-25. It was never cystic, and kind of came and went, it was manageable.

But now at 26 it seems to have come back out of nothing. About 8 months ago It started and its been the worst and most consistent streak of acne I've ever had. My skin never clears, it just fluctuates between slightly broken out and very broken out.

I have tried very hard to watch my diet, hygiene, exercise taken some supplements etc doing all the basic things which are supposed to help. Nothing I've done seems to help.

So I am looking for any and all advice on what I can do to help myself? I dont have insurance so a dermatologist isnt really an option for me. I would prefer not to bomb myself with drugs or fall into proactiv's tentacles again...but I'm essentially miserable about it. At 26 I feel about 10x worse about it than I did at 18. It has been very damaging to my life.

Read some things about hormones and digestion...but dont really know where to start and am beyond frustrated. All thoughts are appreciated -- thanks.

 

So what did you use for topical products other than Proactiv?

Mdp703 - Yeah I know there is alot of information already here, I've read a number of other threads. I guess I was just talking out of frustration. Seemed most posts got a reply... if not many.

Michelle - Its hard to remember...as I said skin was a problem for me in the past...and I happily forgot about it. I used teatree oil at one point, a couple neutrogena skin products, and a variety of natural products from the health food store. Thats about all I recall, unfortunately I relied on proactiv...which as I mentioned works like a miracle then leaves you stranded.

Something physical is causing your otherwise healthy skin to malfunction. Probably one (or more) of;

Sebum, sweat, heat, bacteria, fungus, mites or immune system problem...

What's your sebum production like?

At times my skin does seem slightly more oily than what I think would be considered "normal" or healthy. I'm sure this is part of the issue but don't really know how to address it, hence why I'm on here looking for advice and trying to otherwise educate myself so I can do something to fix this.

Here are some things to try that actually work. Normal changes in life can cause ongoing acne or a flare-up in people prone to acne. You need to attack acne on several fronts at the same time. This will give your skin the best chance it has to deal with what causes acne...sensitivity to hormones and acne bacteria and not shedding properly so pores get plugged up.

Wash with a good BP cleanser like PanOxyl-4. It's sold over-the-counter now and has studies to prove that it works. It's also less irritating for adult skin than topical BP and it doesn't bleach clothing!

See if your regular doctor or clinic will prescribe a topical antibiotic such as Cleocin-T. It's worth your money to do this. This stuff works really well to kill acne bacteria and is soothing to the skin. It works exceptionally well when used in conjunction with PanOxyl-4.

Every couple of months get a microdermabrasion. Costs about $80. This really boosts the shedding of the skin and allowing the topicals to get in.

Cut out all dairy products and sugary foods. You may want to also cut out all wheat too. Dairy is the most implicated in cause acne in adults. These food changes can make a HUGE difference in how your skin breaks out. It takes several months to see the difference.

I hope this helps. I have suffered from acne my whole adult life and know what a bummer it is. But there are things you can do.

Mdp703 - Yeah I know there is alot of information already here, I've read a number of other threads. I guess I was just talking out of frustration. Seemed most posts got a reply... if not many.

Michelle - Its hard to remember...as I said skin was a problem for me in the past...and I happily forgot about it. I used teatree oil at one point, a couple neutrogena skin products, and a variety of natural products from the health food store. Thats about all I recall, unfortunately I relied on proactiv...which as I mentioned works like a miracle then leaves you stranded.

 

Do you remember what kinds of ingredients you tried? Like BP, sulfur, salicylic acid and/or glycolic acid?

Thank you for the information cvd.

Will look into PanOxyl-4, right now I don't use anything topically on my skin just a moisturizer.

Will think about the antibiotics, not sure what I have warrants heavy antibiotic use, but my level of desperation is pretty high so who knows. I don't think I have or have ever had acne in the "classic" sense. Never had large portions of skin covered by the rash looking type, moreso just large numbers of individual breakouts.

I know nothing about microdermabrasion will look into. Hope this is different than just getting a facial. Did that once on someone's advice and it definitely made things worse.

I have heard similiar things about diet before. But I have been in Asia for the past 6 months and had very little dairy or wheat in my diet. Which makes me think this isn't that effectual for me because my skin was not good most of this time. But continuing to avoid those things can't hurt im sure. Like you said different approaches.

I think saying its a bummer is a massive understatement.

Michelle - No I can't remember and have no way of referencing. But unless I'm mistaken ....BP, sulfur, salicylic acid are all used in proactiv's products so in that case I've tried those.